The educational establishment often frames school choice as an issue pitting parents against teachers. But a new poll from EdChoice calls that assumption into question.
The poll found that teachers are feeling quite discouraged about their students these days. As the chart below shows, district or public school teachers are the most discouraged, with only 14-18% of them believing their students are progressing academically, emotionally, and socially.
By this standard, private teachers are far more hopeful, with 42% of them believing that their students are progressing academically, 28% of them believing their students are progressing emotionally, and 30% of them believing their students are progressing socially. That’s a big gap, and if I was a discouraged district teacher, you can bet I’d be eyeing the job listings at local private schools to see if I could get into a workplace that was far less depressing!
Perhaps that’s why the results of another question EdChoice asked teachers were so surprising. “Teachers are very supportive of school choice policies, especially education savings accounts (ESAs),” the poll found. Sixty-nine percent of ALL teachers support the concept, while 66% of district school teachers also support it.
That’s interesting, especially since teachers’ unions are traditionally opposed to most forms of school choice. One has to wonder if those unions are really representing the needs and interests of their teachers … or if they’re just interested in lining the pockets of union bosses.
In any case, 75% of Americans support ESAs. Roughly 70% of all teachers support ESAs. So with such overwhelming popularity, why in the world are legislators so slow to pass ESAs? Time to get with the times, folks!
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